This week on National Geographic Weekend radio, join host Boyd Matson and his guests as they cycle around the world, ski some of the world’s “pretty faces,” tell the world of the price of rhino poaching, explore underwater caves, tell stories of the past in song, box with Ghana’s world champions, mourn the loss of our cultural heritage to war, and solve the melting impacts of black carbon on ice sheets.

The Jordan River of the Middle East has supported a long succession of empires and other human settlements for more than 8,000 years, but it took less than one generation of modern civilization to reduce the river to a trickle of sewage. Now, the ultra-modern technology of “desalination” — turning ocean water into fresh water…

By Neal Lineback and Mandy Lineback Gritzner, Geography in the NewsTM Uncoupling Iraq As the 2005 Iraqi election approached following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, ethnic and sectarian hostilities increased dramatically. Now, more than 10 years after the invasion and with the departure of American and allied troops, Iraq appears to be uncoupling. Iraq watchers have…

Every week, embark with host Boyd Matson on an exploration of the latest discoveries and interviews with some of the most fascinating people on the planet, on National Geographic Weekend. This week, we soar with dogs, look for a peaceful resolution to Middle Eastern conflicts, recover lost treasures high in the Andes, save snow leopards, venture to the North Pole for the last time, preach the dangers of cheap meat, rehab injured city critters, and ponder our climate future.

Join radio host Boyd Matson every week for adventure, conservation and green science. This week his guests try to solve the mystery of the disappearance of Michael Rockefeller, figure out if Mother Nature is really trying to kill you, ski off the seven summits including Everest, look inside the city of Damascus during the Syrian War, dive into Mission Blue with Sylvia Earle, look at how much food we waste each year, take a walk on the surface of Mars, and find out what we should pack on a camping trip.

New York Times Beirut bureau chief Anne Barnard covers the Middle East and has witnessed firsthand the changes that are taking place in Damascus, a city that has been affected by the chaos of war. And we’re giving you the chance to ask her questions about her experience. In her feature “Syria: The Chaos of War”…

This week on National Geographic Weekend, join host Boyd Matson as we paddle board and kite surf in East Africa before meeting disaster, reenact the Civil War’s second bloodiest battle, motorcycle through the Middle East while searching for enlightenment, and combine rock & roll with genetics while trying to save humanity from infectious disease.

Disagreements over the Syrian chemical weapons crisis didn’t stop leaders from reaching a consensus to phase down production and consumption of refrigerant greenhouse gases and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies at the G-20 Summit in Russia. The world’s top greenhouse gas emitters—the U.S. and China—agreed to set up a contact group to explore specific issues related to…

Join us this week, as we paddle 3,000 miles through the remotest rivers in Mongolia and Russia, try to help in Syria’s civil war by starting a children’s camp for refugees, create a dating game for rhinos, film Africa’s disappearing megafauna, and ride hogs across the United States.

Near the point where Turkey, Iraq, and Syria meet, two villages face each other across the Tigris River. On one side lies the Iraqi Kurdish village of Faysh Khabur, home to a Chaldean Christian community for more than fourteen centuries. On the other bank sits Khanik Village, another ancient Chaldean community — but one that lies in Syria.

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National Geographic Society has discontinued publication of the National Geographic News Watch Blog. Readers who wish to follow the following bloggers may do so on their personal websites, found by clicking on their names below:Karl AmmannNeal LinebackMarcy MendelsonElissa Sursara